NOVEL NEXT Chapter 250: Expert
The situation is troublesome.
As if sensing John's pressure, Chuan, who was shot, disappeared in an instant.
The mosaic cloak left color blocks in the air.
John only felt a fierce itch and pain deep in his eye sockets, and the moment his prosthetic eye finished focusing, the opponent was already swinging a sword close to his face.
Chuan's Sianweistan level is very high and precision-calibrated, a league above the black market goods.
John raised his rifle to block.
Honestly...
He didn't think the firearm could hold against advanced blades.
In the near-static time-stop space, several thick black lines crossed the parking lot, hitting Chuan's body.
Bang——
The loud sound even interrupted the time-stop of Sianweistan.
The Raftaki killer was cut in half, seemingly exploding right in place.
John was very close, clearly seeing—Chuan's alloy skeleton caving in at the waist, electric sparks igniting propellant fuel, and the slow-release liquid in the biological hoses splattering on the ground like blood.
Chuan was "knocked flying."
John instinctively turned around to check the situation inside the car—the Raftaki Group's killer must have been targeting Oulos.
The assassin beside the passenger seat had already drawn a samurai sword, about to stab again in the direction Oulos was lying.
Bam, bam bam.
It was still that huge explosion sound.
Without the time-stop filtering of Sianweistan, even more shocking, the eardrums connected to the skull were painfully shaken!
The advanced killer in front of John also "exploded."
He disintegrated from the neck, his head disappearing instantly, half an arm with a samurai sword flew out, processor and spine disintegrating into fragments in the orange-yellow sparks.
Swoosh——
Metal fragments grazed John's cheek, a thin line of blood appearing several seconds later.
"What the... hell."
John took a moment to react.
That wasn't an explosion, but gunfire!
Some kind of large-caliber weapon, creating terrifying echoes in the semi-enclosed environment of the underground garage.
Crash, click.
The gunfire sounded from the corner.
John drove all the way in.
Upon recalling by himself, he neither found the Raftaki killer nor paid attention to this rescuer.
Considered a half-acquaintance.
Hawthorne McCarthy (Cadet).
A senior mercenary from Jingke Heavy Industry.
He was upright, muscles filling out the white shirt, yet not as flashy as the Black Gold Gang, sleeves rolled up to the wrists, holding a shotgun with a barrel thicker than John's fist.
Click.
He took out a round drum magazine from his tactical waist as he walked broadly to the car, pulling John up sideways, gaze and gun muzzle always aimed at the direction the Raftaki killer flew.
Who knows if Chuan is dead!
These heavily modified monsters have complex structures, with networks onboard transmitting data in real time.
No need for John's reminder, nor was there any fuss.
Bang!
Cadet fired again close-range.
John immediately noticed the weapon in his hands.
[Weapon: Jingke Heavy Industry - Hydraulic [Smart Shotgun]]
[Module: Charge High Penetration [Single-fire Mode], Weakness Radar [Requires KI2 Ballistic Calibration Simulator], Advanced Penetration, Incendiary Magazine, etc.]
[Description: Jingke Heavy Industry military-grade weapon, not yet released to the consumer market, positioned as high-spec single-soldier alley warfare firepower, requires extremely high user prosthetic body, no large-scale installation record found.]
It was the first time John saw so many custom mods on a gun.
Its barrel was double-layered, exaggeratedly thick, the telescopic parts alleviating significant recoil, yet even so, fins on the surface spewed out white smoke.
John had a life-threatening fight with "Chuan."
He personally experienced how hard these monsters were to kill, so he was wary of the smart shotgun in Cadet's hands.
In a matter of dozens of seconds, with less than two magazine's worth, they directly blew away the Raftaki Group's elite assassination unit.
Crushing-level firepower!
Chuan not only installed advanced Sianweistan, but also nerve reflectors unavailable on the market, matching titanium skeletons, six-control processors, and custom optical reaction prosthetic eyes...
But what was the result?
Chuan should've captured the trajectory but was forcibly killed even with Sianweistan activated.
This is a [smart] shotgun.
It carries [Weakness Scanning] plug-in, and a set of [Calculation Program] specifically against Sianweistan, even for Chuan's specific model, connected to Cadet in real time through custom hand sensors.
Even the selected shotgun shells were special models!
This was a premeditated "counter-ambush."
"Fuck."
John recalled the scene of brushing past [Cadet] at noon, didn't even need Oulos to explain, just connected the dots.
The Raftaki Group wanted to assassinate insiders.
But Oulos had anticipated "possible enemies" before leaving the apartment, preemptively hiring a strong enough bodyguard, even the weapon's every detail tailored against "Chuan."
No wonder Oulos was not afraid at all...
Even after discovering the mastermind was the Raftaki Group, she dared to openly return to her residence.
It was all arranged ahead of time.
"Happy weekend, John, did you have fun?"
Hawthorne smiled.
He kicked aside scattered metal parts with his foot, holding a murder weapon, his prosthetic eye glowing, as if handling a trivial little problem.
John noticed modification marks on Hawthorne's hand.
The smart shotgun he uses demands high standards—the ballistic coordination processor and shoulder blade components all require adjustment.
Cadet is a high-level mercenary with company backing.
He has sufficient resources for support, can replace prosthetic bodies according to task needs.
"I'm going to dock your pay, Mr. McCarthy."
Oulos calmly left the passenger seat, clutching her bruised arm, expressing dissatisfaction with the Cadet's tardiness.
"I'm now increasingly disappointed in Eden City's mercenaries."
"Don't be like that, I believe in John's abilities."
Cadet controlled the scene.
The enormous shotgun fit perfectly in his hands.
"I can't figure it out, Jingke Heavy Industry pays you, yet you can still roam around freely? Last time was barely okay, at least it involved company and gang relationship dynamics, now openly accepting private jobs is fine?"
"Who said it was private work?"
Oulos saw John was puzzled.
"Jingke Heavy Industry also wants a seat at the negotiation table."
The Hovercar crash incident, the greatest pressure wasn't on the Raftaki Group but the Black Gold Gang branded with terrorist attack.
Or rather, it was Jingke Heavy Industry behind the West District.
Without new evidence, it could only be the hostile party taking the blame, causing them to be severely suppressed in the city. Even gangs are forced to shrink entirely, not daring to take any new action under the spotlight.
Oulos spotted this point.
Cadet is Jingke Heavy Industry's bargaining chip.
What they demand is the truth behind the Hovercar crash, to restore their operational rights in the city.
"Now, just one last issue remains."
Oulos took a surgical bag from the luxury vehicle in the basement.
"John, gouge out her eye."
She spoke calmly, yet made a cruel request.
John was somewhat unresponsive.
Oulos's expression had disappeared, irises beneath black-framed glasses floating with golden data streams.
She stared at the pale-faced Red Falcon in the back seat of the sports car.
"You shouldn't have lied in front of me."